September 9, 2018 TBF District 8 National Semi-final Report The Nebraska TBF would like to extend congratulations to Kent Priel for winning the 2018 District 8 National Semi-final tournament and also to Chris Swift for …

Minn Kota launches the only shallow-water anchor that gives anglers control from anywhere in the boat, plus unlocks more water for precise, anchored fishing with a new 15-foot version. Racine, Wisconsin (8/4/2017) – Using a …

Minn Kota launches the only shallow-water anchor that gives anglers control from anywhere in the boat, plus unlocks more water for precise, anchored fishing with a new 15-foot version. Racine, Wisconsin (8/4/2017) – Using a …

The dust has settled from our first Ultimate Match Fishing (ULF) tournament. This is a head-to-head boater only tournament series to qualify 2 fishermen to our NE TBF Regional team along with earning some pocket change and bragging rights. The tournament format is challenging as it has a different qualifying system each round.

Tournament Day 1 saw Shawn Holly leading the pack for the 4 man cut for day 2. Shawn had a 5 fish limit (on an 18” length limit lake) of 19.48 lbs. Reports of several 4 pound plus fish were caught and released as they would not measure 18”.

Day 2 only 4 make the cut to fish (Shawn Holly, Terry Hussey, Bill Knoell and Mark Krueger). This round was for the total weight of all fish over 12”. Again Shawn took top honors for this round. Shawn hit the mother-lode with 49 scoreable bass for a final weight of 110.55 lbs. Terry Hussey finished 2nd with 17 fish and a weight of 34.32 lbs. Both anglers qualified for the ULF Championship to be held at a later date.

3 weeks later we held our ULF Championship with Shawn Holly and Bill Knoell, as Terry Hussey was unable to participate due to a work injury suffered the week prior. This time to “add to the mystery” we met at Bass Pro Shop in the morning to drive our anglers and 2 donated boats to Lake “X” with the lake unknown to either before arriving at the boat ramp. This was a real shoot-out but Shawn won the 5 fish event over Bill. Congratulations to both Shawn and Bill for fishing hard and qualifying for the Regional Team. Our overall winner was Shawn Holly and our runner-up was Bill Knoell.

Our thanks to Ranger Boats for providing funding allowing us to get 4 scales for the event.

MINNEAPOLIS (Dec. 14, 2016) – Fishing League Worldwide (FLW) and The Bass Federation (TBF) today announced a multi-year extension to their strategic partnership, bolstering the relationship between the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization and the nation’s oldest broad-based grassroots fishing, youth and conservation organization. Terms of the agreement were not released.

As part of the extended partnership FLW will undertake the largest expansion of the co-managed High School Fishing program since launching the state-championship series of High School Fishing events in partnership with TBF in 2011. The expansion includes facilitating a new series of 24 High School Fishing Open tournaments to complement the existing State Championships and High School Fishing World Finals coordinated by TBF. TBF will also debut two High School Fishing Challenge events to meet growing demand from the more than 15,000 young anglers that participated in the program in 2016. All told, students will now have 76 FLW and TBF High School Fishing events in which to compete in 2017.

“High School Fishing is the foundation on which our sport will continue to grow,” said FLW President of Operations Kathy Fennel. “With the continued erosion of traditional pathways into fishing, the industry is taking note of High School Fishing’s recruitment, retention and reactivation potential. All it takes is one visit to a High School Fishing tournament to see that FLW and TBF have tapped into something special that unites generations in a way our sport has never seen before.”

No changes will be made to the existing program for adult TBF anglers. Fourteen TBF anglers (seven boaters and seven co-anglers) will advance to the BFL All-American from the TBF National Championship. The TBF National Champion boater will also advance to the Forrest Wood Cup and continue to receive the life-changing “Living the Dream” package to fish the entire season as an FLW Tour pro using a TBF-wrapped Ranger boat and tow vehicle without paying a single entry fee. TBF members will also continue to receive priority entry into all FLW tournaments.

“TBF is proud to partner with FLW in providing the nation’s most extensive network of grass-roots fishing opportunities from our TBF junior program through high school and college to the TBF National Semi-Final Series for adult anglers and ultimately our ‘Living the Dream’ package on the FLW Tour,” said TBF President Robert Cartlidge. “No two organizations work more closely to provide more fishing opportunities for more anglers nationwide than FLW and TBF. We are proud of that tradition and what it means for future generations.”

Veteran Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament director Dave Maxfield has been tapped to lead the new series of High School Fishing Opens as FLW High School Fishing tournament director. Working closely alongside Maxfield will be Scott Ellison, who has been promoted to FLW Youth Director and Promotion’s Manager.

Going forward, High School Fishing will operate on a school calendar with the National Championship being held in the summer in conjunction with the High School Fishing World Finals. The top 10 percent of teams in each State Championship, Challenge and Open will advance directly to the High School Fishing National Championship. The High School Fishing national champions will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship to the school of their choice.

All participants must be Student Angler Federation (SAF) members to participate. SAF membership includes both TBF and FLW membership plus a digital subscription to FLW Bass Fishing magazine, online training courses and more.

SAF members never pay an entry fee to participate in FLW or TBF High School Fishing tournaments and all clubs are covered by SAF insurance, which means there is no added expense for schools with sanctioned High School Fishing clubs.

For State Championships, each team must compete in the state in which their school is located. Teams from all states can participate in Open tournaments and Challenge events. Entries for State Championships and Challenge events should be made at Highschoolfishing.org or by calling TBF at (580)-765-9031. Entries for Opens should be made at FLWfishing.com or by calling FLW at (270)-252-1000. Entries for all events will be accepted beginning January 3. There is no limit to the number of teams accepted into a tournament from each school or club.

FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2017 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 235 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat: @FLWFishing.

About The Bass Federation

The Bass Federation Inc., (TBF) is a member of the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. TBF is owned by those we serve and dedicated to the sport of fishing. The Federation is the largest and oldest, organized grassroots fishing, youth and conservation organization there is. TBF, our affiliated state federations and their member clubs conduct more than 20,000 events each year and have provided a foundation for the entire bass fishing industry for more than 45 years. TBF founded the Student Angler Federation and the National High School Fishing program in 2008 to promote clean family fun and education through fishing. Visit bassfederation.com or highschoolfishing.org and “LIKE US” on Facebook.

Our Sponsor Partners

Like Us On Facebook!

The Idaho-Montana Semi-Final event went off without a hitch after initial weather reports advised of weekend high winds and rain on Saturday and holding a 2-day event questionable! Thankfully even with the windy conditions, which turned out to not be as high as forecast, the fishing went well and a two day event resulted in […]

Final day report of the district 14 Regional semifinal Quinte West, Ontario Canada. Well after a stingy day one the bay. The bay of Quinte started to show its true colors on Sunday. Calm waters and anglers having time to dial in the patterns saw 47 limits brought to the scale compared to 16 on […]

Pre-fishing in wind and rain, then evening T-storms and tornado watches gave way to a 41 degree cold front to greet Minnesota and Wisconsin’s best bass anglers on day one. After a short fog delay 108 anglers left Winona’s Levee Park to pursue the green and brown bass that call the Mighty Mississippi home. WI […]

On September 21, 2018 122 anglers from Ohio and Michigan met at the Shelby Street Ramp on Sandusky Bay in Sandusky, Ohio in anticipation of having a great two days fishing for the smallmouth bass that the Western basin of Lake Erie is famous for. However Mother Nature was throwing the anglers a curve as […]